The present invention relates to a container and a method of loading and dispensing articles from such a container. The container and method are particularly adapted for use in dispensing cylindrical smoking articles such as cigarettes.
Conventional cigarette packages, including flip-top packs, provide access to several or all of the cigarettes in the package through the top of the package. Individual cigarettes must be selected, manually separated and withdrawn from the package with the fingers. Typically, selecting a single cigarette for withdrawal is a two-handed operation. The pack may be impacted to cause one or a few cigarettes to extend from the top of the pack for grasping. However, this procedure can cause ejection and loss of cigarettes if not done properly.
An alternative approach in the design of a cigarette package, known in the prior art, is illustrated in U.K. Patent No. 387,374. While this package is adapted to pass only one cigarette at a time from a row of cigarettes within the package, the structure has several disadvantages relating to the ease of fabricating of the package and ease of loading and dispensing the cigarettes, as will be discussed in greater detail below.
Modern cigarette packages are fabricated and loaded on very high speed production lines. Accordingly, appropriate package configurations must be adapted to high speed die-cutting, folding, and gluing, and loading procedures.
Several fabrication disadvantages of the prior art are illustrated in the package of U.K. No. 387,374. The package includes a sliding drawer made of two separate cardboard blanks. Typically, an increase in the number of component parts increases the difficulty of fabrication of the package. The package of the '374 patent also includes a square aperture in an end wall, two edges of which are formed by walls perpendicular to the end wall. Aside from aesthetic considerations, this structure has the disadvantage of requiring the use of relatively thick wall materials to achieve rigidity and dimensional stability.
Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide a package or container which can be rapidly and economically cut, folded, assembled and loaded on a high volume production line to produce a rigid, dimensionally stable finished product.
Package closures present special problems. Tuck-in closure flaps (such as shown in U.K. Patent No. 387,374) suffer from the disadvantage that they are difficult to tuck and typically require two-hands to manipulate. Conventional packages with flip-top lids present other problems, including the difficulties of achieving complete closure and in locking of the lid in a closed position.
Containers for one-handed dispensing of small articles such as mints or troches are known in the art. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,877,573. In such containers a lid is opened or an aperture is exposed, and the container is shaken to eject the mints or troches. However, such containers are adapted for dispensing generally round articles and may eject a variable number of articles when given a single shake.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to the present invention to provide a package or container which dispenses cylindrical smoking articles, such as cigarettes, one at a time.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a package or container for cylindrical smoking articles which can be operated with one hand. More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a cigarette package from which cigarettes may be conveniently dispensed, one at a time, by tilting and shaking the package.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a package or container for dispensing cylindrical smoking articles with a closure mechanism which is self-locking.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a package or container for cylindrical smoking articles through which the articles are visible, while still protecting the articles from the environment.
These and other objects and features will be apparent from a reading of the following description of preferred embodiments. One or more of such objects may be achieved by the structures and methods presented in the claims.